Graphing Math Lesson Plan

Subject area:  Mathematics
Grade level:  3rd Grade
MN math standards:  3.4.1.1- Collect, display and interpret data using frequency tables, bar graphs, picture graphs and number line plots having a variety of scales. Use appropriate titles, labels and units.

Objectives:  For students to learn how to collect, display, and interpret data using frequency tables, bar graphs picture graphs, and number line plots.
Time to be used:  40 minutes

List of materials: 
·         Pencil
·         Notebooks
·         Graph Paper

Teaching process:

Before the lesson:
·         Ask students if they have ever seen a graph before. If so, ask them what kind or what they look like.
·         Ask students why we use graphs and how it can be helpful.
·         Have students draw their own graph on a sheet of notebook paper and volunteer to show everyone.
·         Have students sit back in front of the smartboard on the floor with their notebooks.
During the lesson:
·         Open to the second page of the Smartboard lesson about bar graphs
·         Ask the students to help you figure out the answers to the questions on the screen.
·         Go to the next page of the smartboard lesson and have all the students go up to the smartboard and tally which fruit is their favorite. Write the title, labels and units on the blank graph and fill it out asking for volunteers to help.
·         Open to the fourth page of the smartboard about pictographs and explain that this certain graph uses pictures. Fill out the three questions provided with the class.
·         Open to the fifth page and have the students read the pictograph information and make their own below. Make sure they know one star equals one student.
·         Go over the last page of the Smartboard which is a little quiz for the students to match the types of graphs.
·         Have the students go back to their seats and open a blank page on the smartboard. Collect data from all the students about how many pets they have. Make a number line plot on the smartboard to show the results.
·         Have the students make a bar graph using the same information about their number of pets on a sheet of graphing paper.
·         Pair students up in two and have them compare their graphs.
·         Have one group volunteer to show their graph on the doc camera and explain to the class how they made it and labeled it.
·         Have students go back to their desks.

After the lesson:
·         Ask students what they learned today.
·         Why is graphing important? When would you use a bar graph? When would you use a picture graph? Which graph is your favorite to use? Which is the easiest graph to make?

Assessment: Have students turn in their pet bar graph that they had to make on their own.

Closure: Today we learned how to make bar, number line, and picture graphs about our class information, but tomorrow we will get data from another third grade class with different questions!